Decisions Regarding Net Neutrality Being Considered by FCC Chairman Wheeler

February 0908:572015

The decision(s) made by the FCC Chairman may decide whether or not the Internet might be reclassified as a Public Utility in answer to the question regarding a free and open Internet . The CEO of ABFY SELLERS GROUP and inventor emphatically states that true Internet history is not fully known and that the FCC is making these decisions while she fights for her rights in the U.S. Supreme Court.

President Obama has stated that converting the Internet into a Public Utility could be an answer to Net Neutrality and keeping an open and free Internet. Some are endorsing this plan which is not popular with cable companies. Internet history such as the excerpt from the following article from THE FREEMAN which states some of the history of the Internet is being challenged by this news release from the CEO of ABFY Sellers Group who claims that she is being left out of Internet History:

In his now-famous “You didn’t build that” speech, President Obama said, “The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.” …… Obama’s claim is in line with the standard history of the Internet. That story goes something like this: In the 1960s the Department of Defense was worried about being able to communicate after a nuclear attack. So it directed the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) to design a network that would operate even if part of it was destroyed by an atomic blast. ARPA’s research led to the creation of the ARPANET in 1969. ……………………… For civilian agencies and universities, NSFNET, operated by the National Science Foundation, replaced ARPANET in 1985. ARPANET was finally shut down in February 1990. NSFNET continued to operate until 1995, during which time it grew into an important backbone for the emerging Internet ….

The CEO of ABFY SELLERS GROUP and inventor emphatically states that true Internet history is not fully known and that the FCC and President Obama are leaving her out. Her contributions to the development of the Internet are still being suppressed by the federal government. However the Internet now visible and in use by billions did not become publicly known until around 1995. It exists partially because of the innovative concepts of this inventor whose name has not been made a part of Internet history. She alleges that the government stole her ideas on inventing the Internet and has not credited nor compensated her because of her race which is African-American.

Dorothy M. Hartman conceived the idea of using cyberspace which is latent in computers as an alternate marketplace shared among computer user networks which is why the Internet has such an expansive property. This property has given the Internet an almost incredible ability to absorb billions of users online. The addition of this property or component to Telecom networks has made the technology and ecommerce communities millionaires and billionaires, but the inventor of the process goes without compensation or even honorable mention. Further she is suffering terrible injustice.

The Telecom networks described in the FREEMAN article ended with the ARPANET which was shut down by 1990 and was parked in a holding structure called the NSFNET. The prior networks built on that model had become defunct and were not profitable. Hartman’s proposals on Commercializing Telecom in her business method titled Accessing Accessibility submitted to the federal government in March 1990 demonstrated ways in which the telecom network(s) could be improved — transforming the industry and making it both profitable and self-sustaining. Although she received no funding or support for her small business startup which were the reasons for her submissions to the Small Business Innovation Research Program – she alleges that although she was dismissed by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for funding that her ideas were used anyway.

Her contributions are of monumental importance because they made the difference. More than any other person her intellectual property was the most crucial — because it made the difference between having the Internet of today and not having one. No one else has come forth to make that claim or to dispute it. Yet the Inventor’s rights have not been considered in any government decision, be it by President Obama or Chairman Wheeler of the FCC when considering Net Neutrality.

There are contributors to the Internet whose names have been included in the History of the Internet and the WorldWide Web. Presently their names and comments have been spread profusely over Google and the Internet speaking out on Net Neutrality now that Chairman Wheeler of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is supposed to make a decision in the coming weeks regarding Net Neutrality. The names associated as being co-inventors, founders, and fathers of the Internet and WorldWide Web are already recognized and compensated for their contributions. Rightly so as some of them are responsible for the physical presence and structures that make the Internet accessible. The U.S. Federal Government provided the funding, technology built it, but “Hartman dreamed it ” alleges the Inventor. It was her ideas and creativity that were used by the National Science Foundation to commission the overhauling of the Telecom networks in 1990.

The decision(s) made by the FCC Chairman may decide whether or not the Internet might be reclassified as a Public Utility in answer to the question regarding a free and open Internet. Many seem to be in favor, while cable companies are not. However no comments have been made by President Obama or FCC Chairman Wheeler about what rights an inventor may have since thus far – she has been completely ignored. Her identity has been suppressed for 25 years. Her patent application for the process Accessing Accessibility held for 8 years and denied in September 2012. She has been engaged in continuous court battles. Her most recent appeal filed on December 30, 2014, distributed for Court Conference on February 20, 2015.

Although many opinions and statements from those in the news proclaiming themselves as the founders, fathers, and co-inventors of the Internet and the World Wide Web are all over the Internet – you will barely find a mention of Hartman. Her case is being ignored by the Mainstream Media and her blogs shut down. She has placed her case, docketed IN RE DOROTHY M. HARTMAN before the United States Supreme Court An appeal was filed on December 30, 2014 to be reviewed in Court Conference on February 20, 2015.

Of those proclaiming themselves as inventors or founders of the Internet and World Wide Web, Ms. Hartman is the only one with a Patent Application #11003123 for the Accessing Accessibility Process which when reduced to practice comprises the Internet [see image].

The image shown depicts the Cover Page of the publication of the application. The Inventor states that although she submitted refined drawings that they were not accepted by the Office nor was she ever given the opportunity to properly amend claims. Although she did not file initially until 2004, she nevertheless was First to Invent and First to File so patentability should have been preserved. March 12, 1990 she alleges is the invention date as it was her first and notarized submission to the federal government of her proposals.

The full patent application can be found at United States Patent and Trademark Office under Public Pair which can be viewed by entering the application number. Further she is the only one offering proof in the form of facts and evidence that her claims and allegations are valid. There was an ongoing dialogue between Hartman and Federal Government Employees regarding her proposals and a paper trail of that correspondence for over two years between 1990 – 1992. Therefore the Patent Office and the U.S. government including the FCC are aware of her contributions, but thus far no acknowledgement. A serious discussion about net neutrality or any other aspect of the Internet can hardly be determined without knowing the nature of its status.

The Inventor alleges that she is being intentionally discriminated against and exploited by the government because she is black and financially disadvantaged. There are laws both Constitutional and Civil which protect her rights and she is fighting for those in Court. The United States Patent and Trademark Office refusal to grant a patent in September 2012 based on “indefiniteness” as a reason. The Inventor alleges that this is not legally binding or even constitutional and the inventor is still fighting in court to have the ruling overturned.

Cyberspace may be indefinite, but the Internet is not. The Internet is not indefinite because it is bounded by the availability of equipment and software. One cannot access it without the proper equipment and software. Therefore the use of machinery is required. That in itself precludes it from being an “indefinite” invention. Internet 2 is distinctly different from Internet 1 (the Internet before 1990). The Internet (the modern day Internet or Internet 2) does not satisfy the criteria of “indefiniteness” as stated by the Patent Office.

If the government is to declare the Internet a Public Utility, then like any other property confiscated from an owner for the Public Good, Eminent Domain should be declared and the Inventor compensated accordingly. At the very least, alleges the Inventor she should be compensated according to US code 18 — referencing Patents and intellectual property Sec. 1832(a) Theft of trade secrets (a) as it was her proprietary information that was used to extend credit and opportunity to prosper without acknowledging or compensating her.